My dad was infamous for presenting bad gifts. One Mother’s Day he came in from the garage, tossed a brown bag to my mom and said, “Happy Mother’s Day,” and then returned to the garage to work on the car. Touching.
Fortunately, I’m a bit better at gifts than he was, but not always. I’ve made the mistake of getting the gift, but not a card, or the gift and the card, but the gift wasn’t wrapped. Or now when we mail cards and gifts home to mom, getting it there before Mother’s Day is never the goal, it’s getting it there before Christmas.
Even though many of us struggle with this, I thought I might share some bad ideas for Mother’s Day. These may or may not be things I know from experience and in the words of Tom Brady, “I plead the fifth.”
- Promising a meal out, but not making a reservation. Take it from me, it will be crazy on Sunday morning, so don’t roll into her favorite place and expect you’re the only one who thought of it. If you do, it could lead to the next mistake.
- Promising a meal out, and going through the drive-thru. This applies to any restaurant that even HAS a drive-thru. Pulling up to the speaker and saying, “What do you want?” is not the best idea of a gift.
- Promising you’ll cook and forgetting to shop before Sunday. Start the prep a week ahead. What will you cook? What does it take? Can you make any of it ahead of time? Does anything need to thaw? You don’t want to pull the roast out of the freezer an hour before you eat.
- A vacuum. This goes for any cleaning supplies or devices. Unless, of course, that’s what she asked, then go big.
- Membership to Jenny Craig. This goes for any weight management system. Even if she asked for it. You don’t want that all over social media!
- Not getting your wife a card and using the excuse: “Well, you’re not MY” Yes, your wife is not your mom, but you can still honor her being a mother.
- “A donation has been made in your name to The Human Fund.” Sorry, couldn’t resist the Seinfeld reference.
- A poem you read to her or a song you sing to her. Even if you can do that, do that another time. She’ll know you forgot to get anything and are making this up on the fly.
- Anything from Victoria’s Secret. This will only seem self-serving. And if it’s for your actual mother, then just inappropriate.
- Skipping church. Fellas, the moms want to go to church with their family. Don’t miss that. They like everyone together and doing something that will bring value to the home. So plan the dinner or brunch for after and enjoy the service. In fact, if you don’t know where to go, join us online or in person at one of our campuses. I would love to have you!
What about you? Any epic fails for gifts?
Here’s a good rule to go with: Ask her, then surprise her. Get her what she wants, and then something she didn’t suspect. It doesn’t even have to be expensive, but it will show you care.
Here’s to the moms. Without them, we wouldn’t be here.
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